I have posted this list before, but around the holidays there's so much bad stuff our furry friends can get into, so it's worth saying again. Please, read this list of the foods most dangerous to dogs, and the symptoms/effects of each one. It could save your dog's life.
Most people know not to give their dogs chocolate, but many other common household things that we eat are also poisonous to dogs. Some things to look out for are:
- Chocolate
Chocolate is oh so good and tempting, even for your canine friends, but it contains a substance called theobromine. It's a cardiac stimulant that doesn't really affect humans, but can be lethal to dogs. The dog can seem perfectly fine up to several hours after eating a larger amount of chocolate, and death can still ensue within 24 hours.
A dog that has eaten chocolate can exhibit symptoms that include: staggering, problems breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, tummy pains, tremmors, fever, seizures, and coma. Milk chocolate contains the least cocoa and is the least dangerous. Dark chocolate is really bad. If your dog ate chocolate, or if you suspect your dog ate chocolate, don't gamble with their life. Go see a vet. Most cities have pet emergency rooms open even during nights and holidays. - Cocoa Powder
Well, cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are chocolate. They don't taste as good to us, but that's just because it's more concentrated without the sugar of normal munching chocolate. Thus, these forms are even more toxic, and contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. A 22 pound dog can be seriously ill or die from as little as two ounces of cocoa powder. A small dog can get really sick from just licking chocolate icing. - Onions
Most people understand that they shouldn't give a dog an onion. Onions can be difficult to watch out for though; they're in all sorts of food, and all sorts are dangerous. Onions and garlic contain a substance called thiosulphate. Garlic has less and is thus less dangerous, but you still shouldn't feed it to your dogs. Thiosulphate cause haemolytic anaemia, which means that the pet's red blood cells burst while circulating through the body. Symtomps are labored breathing, liver damage, vomiting, diarrhea, and discolored urine.
The poisoning might not show until days after the pet ate onion. Watch out for onion dip, left over pizza, commercial baby food with onions, chinese food, gravys... You get the idea. - Mushrooms
Some dogs react very badly to certain species of mushrooms. Symptoms include tummy aches, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting, diarrhea, convusions, coma and... death. - Grapes and Raisins
Most dogs love grapes and raisins, but they're bad, bad, bad. Some dogs don't seem to react at all, others get violently ill from just a handful. Don't gamble, give your dog something else. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, and lethargy. (Grapeseed oil, used in many paw revitalizers, is poisonous to many other animals, but dogs don't seem to react to it.) - Macadamia nuts
These might not kill your dog, but they do have high levels of phosphorous and can lead to bladder stones. Dogs get muscle problems, and weakness and even paralysis of their hind legs. Affected dogs are often unable to rise up.
Other things to watch out for are:
- Baby foods - often contain onion powder
- Bones from fish, birds, and pork
- Pointsettias - are poisonous
- Tulips, Hyacinths, Daffodils, Lilies, Azaleas, Crocus, Rhododendrons, and many other common garden plants. They're beautiful to look at, but shouldn't be eaten by neither people nor pets.
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